Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe

Need a quick, easy, and delicious slow cooker meal? Well, look no further! We had this for dinner the other night and it instantly became a family favorite. I thought that the honey would make it super sweet, but it was the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor. It was a big hit with our kids and so easy to throw together- a winning combination in my book! I don’t know what I would do without my slow cooker!

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

*You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

Congrats on hitting 4,000 followers, sisters!! Woo-weeee!! I’m proud of y’all and your hard work and all your efforts! Just wanted you to know that I am on my way to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients for this one. Will let you know how it goes!!

I think that veggies would be yummy in this! If you used fresh, I think that carrots would be great, but I have never cooked fresh broccoli in a slow cooker, so I am not sure how it would turn out! If you used frozen, I would maybe add them when you had about an hour or two left of cook time (or else they would be soggy). Let us know if it works!

Hi Kim! The only problem with cooking chicken breasts for that long is that they tend to dry out. However, chicken thighs seem to hold up so much better and stay moist in the slow cooker for longer amounts of time . . . so if you cook it for that long, I would suggest using chicken thighs instead? Or maybe use frozen chicken breasts . . . that way it would take longer for them to cook! Good luck!

looking for crock version of a family favorite and I have a question. . .doesn’t the chicken get cold if you take it out and cut it up? Maybe if I just did one breast at a time. I really prefer to just serve it once it is cooked (rather than another step). Have you tried cutting it up beforehand and reducing the cooking time? Thanks a million. Really looking forward to spending more time on your site.

I am the mother of six girlies (and one son)! It is so nice to see what lovely ladies all of you are!

I just tried this tonight. I was wondering if there is a way to make the sauce thicker. I followed the recipe and the sauce never got thick like a traditional Chinese dish. Maybe less water next time? I am open to suggestions.

I poured the sauce in a pan and mixed the corn starch with cold water,then added it to the pan. stir until it thinkens.. she does list this in the recipe. She made it in the slow cooker after removing the chicken..

I have made this many times now (LOVE it), and I find the sauce doesn’t thicken with the lid on. I leave the lid off and turn it to high so it boils a little bit. Once it’s thickened to where I like it I mix the chicken back in and leave it for a couple minutes to warm it up. I found with the lid on it just keeps all that condensation in, so it never thickens. Good luck!

I cooked this tonight for my husband and I and our 1 year old son. My husband and I thought it was tastey (our 1 yr old tried it but wouldn’t eat it), but it doesn’t taste like an Asian dish. Maybe it needs ginger or more garlic? Not a lot of flavor.

Found this on Pinterest and made it last night. Didn’t have cornstarch so I used flour and it worked fine. I used the chicken to make lettuce wraps, and they were so tasty! The whole family really enjoyed it…thanks!

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I added some sriracha for heat and it turned out great. I also added broccoli with about a half hour left to cook and served over brown rice. I’ll definitely make this again!

I made this for dinner tonight. So easy and super yummy! I separately cooked a bag of frozen stir fry and added some cashews and soy sauce. Then put the bed of rice down, then the stir fry, and then the sesame chicken. Huge hit with my hubby and 1 year old!!! LOVED this! Thank you for sharing!

Made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful. I only had about 1/2 cup of honey, so I added about a 1/4 cup brown sugar to the pot. Even my picky husband LOVED it. We also had neighbors join us last minute and they called it gourmet – HA! Will definitely make again.

I just made this tonight and was told by my husband that I had a hit. he NEVER says that when I make something new. Thank you. I did add a little sesame oil instead of sesame seeds since I didn’t have any seeds. Thanks again.

I love Sesame Chicken from Chinese take-out, so I definitely want to give this recipe a try. Do you think I could double the sauce and at the end mix in some cooked broccoli with the chicken too? Would that be too much sauce?

I made this last night and it was delicious. This is the first slow cooker meal I’ve ever made that I actually WANT to make again. Thank you so much for sharing it; I’ve reposted and linked up to you on my blog, and filed it on my recipe page. Leftovers tonight? I think we will! Yay!

Found this on pinterst and made it today. O M G! Soooooo good!! I think I could eat all of it in one sitting lol. The only thing is that I could get the sauce to thicken up but it was still deeeeelish. Served it over brown rice, think it would be good with some broccoli slaw added.

My husband loves the Seseme chicken that we eat at a local Chinese Resturant so I altered this recipe to be more like theirs. The crockpot version is healthier, but he loved this. I fried my chicken, then stir fried broccoli, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts and carrot until crisp tender. I served over rice and it was fantastic! I have searched for years for a good recipe. This really hit the spot! Thanks.

I used my smaller crockpot – I think it’s a 4 quart? It’s just big enough for a whole chicken without any room…..I could have gone even smaller if I had one. But I only have this one and the monster size which fits two whole chickens…does that help?

Made this with a couple changes: used 1 T veg oil and 1 T sesame oil(instead of 2 T veg oil) and only used 2/3c honey(instead of 1c). Also added some grated ginger and about a teaspoon of sriacha(sp?). It was AWESOME. This is definitely a once-a-week-er. Used chicken thighs and served over capanelli. Mmmmm.

I made this the other night, and it was a HUGE HIT!!!!! Even my husband loved it, and he doesn’t like poultry. I left out the red pepper flakes, and it was delicious. But I think I’ll add the pepper next time around. Wow!!!!!

I made it yesterday for dinner and everyone ate it (that’s saying something). I used Trader Joes chicken breasts. I threw them in there still frozen solid and cooked on low for 6 hours. There were no leftovers!

I didn’t have enough honey so used Molasses and Low sodium soy sauce. After doubling the recipe my entire family loved it and ate every bite. It was delicious! I calculated the calories using 24 ounces of chicken and the calories without the sesame seeds were 233. The sesame seeds add about 20 calories per 8 servings.

I have 9-year-old twin girls and they loved this! One of them is SOOOOO picky and she actually had 4 servings of it!!!! That has to be the most food she’s ever eaten at one sitting. Thank you VERY much for this great recipce! I add a lot more (1 and 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes) since my family all likes their food spicy, and it wasn’t even too spicy for me… just great flavor!

This is my 3rd time making this dish in 2 months. My family LOVES it! I double the recipe adding in some chicken thighs with the breasts, and add some sesame oil and brown sugar to the sauce. Comes out great every time!

I made this last night..Yummy! Lots of sauce left over, next time i will use 6 breasts.so i have leftovers to go with the delicious sauce! you know how we all like to tweak recipes?! I added some sweet chili sauce..

Made this tonight for my younger sister and her friends who were having a study party for finals. They LOVED it!I served it over white rice with broccoli on the side and used five breasts instead of four, with plenty sauce to spare. Definitely a hit with teenagers and will make again for the rest of my family:)

I had to comment and let you know that this recipe was a hit with my family, especially my dad. I am a recent college grad and living on my own for the first time, never had to cook for myself before. I made this for dinner and my dad was so impressed with how good it tasted. So, thanks for giving me some respect in the kitchen!

made this tonight and it was delicious. I decided to try the frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenders(worked beautifully), the only thing i added was green bell pepper at the end and a can of pineapple. sooo tasty. its almost like moo shu pork, gonna try next time shred the chicken and put in flour wraps.

Bummer! I am so sorry! I don’t know why it isn’t thickening up! Maybe you could pour the sauce from the slow cooker into a small sauce pan and cook it over medium/high heat while stirring in the cornstarch and water . . . I wonder if that would help? Good luck!

I made this for dinner tonight. It came out perfect. I cubed 3lbs. of chicken before cooking and I doubled the sauce because towards the end of the cooking cycle I added some broccoli florets and there wouldn’t have been enough sauce. I really like asian food and this is the first recipe I have tried that actually tastes like something I would have ordered out for! Yummy!

I made this for dinner tonight for my husband and 3 sons. Everyone LOVED it. I used 4 organic chicken breasts and rubbed them with good quality olive oil and salt and pepper before putting them in the bottom of the crock pot. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (except I used 1 tbs olive oil in the bowl instead of 2, as I had already used some on the chicken breasts). I cooked on low for 4 hours. I needed to add a couple extra tsp of cornstarch to thicken up and it took about 20 minutes on high to thicken it. But, I found this recipe to be super easy, and super tasty! I will definitely make it again. Thank you!!

I made this for dinner tonight for my husband and 3 sons. Everyone LOVED it. I used 4 organic chicken breasts and rubbed them with good quality olive oil and salt and pepper before putting them in the bottom of the crock pot. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (except I used 1 tbs olive oil in the bowl instead of 2, as I had already used some on the chicken breasts). I cooked on low for 4 hours. I needed to add a couple extra tsp of cornstarch to thicken up and it took about 20 minutes on high to thicken it. But, I found this recipe to be super easy, and super tasty! I will definitely make it again. Thank you!!

Hi there! Putting in agave for honey would not only give it a very different texture but the taste would be very different! My husband really likes agave but I think if you try it to use a lot less or you might have a very strong flavor of agave. Hope this helps!

I made this for the first time today…So GOOD!I did sub sesame oil instead and omitted the onions, & served over white rice, and my little boys asked to be served 3 times! This is definitely a keeper in my house, thanks for sharing

this was soooooooo cool. i love cooking in the crockpot – it works for working moms. my 8yr old NEVER likes anything that comes out of it. THIS HE ATE!!!! 3 helpings of it!!!! THANKS and it was super easy for me!!! pop it in the crock, went to soccer game and ate when we got home! YOU have made my YEAR!!!

I really think that it would freeze just fine! You could throw the ingredients in a bag (all uncooked) and then pop it in the crock pot on the day you want to eat it. I am happy to hear that your son liked it! That is awesome.

This was absolutely delicious!! I actually added a few things and it really brought out a lot of flavor and turned out amazing!I added a few dashes of hot sauce, some cayenne pepper, a little bit of chili powder and ground cloves. I also added fresh broccoli and mushrooms! Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to make it again!http://fortheloveofanaviator.wordpress.com/

Made this a few weeks ago and it was a hit! I used 1/2 tsp of cayenne instead of crushed red pepper flakes, used 2 HUGE frozen chicken breasts (it’s just me and my hubby and there were plenty of leftovers), cooked low for about 5 hours, cut up and simmered in the sauce for another hour. I didn’t thicken the sauce because the last time I tried a recipe like this in the crock, it ended up being a big pile of goo. The sauce was divine over rice just the way it was! I’m very glad I didn’t thicken it! I’m making it again tonight with Thai sticky rice, yum! Thanks for the awesome recipe!

Made this tonight and it was SO delicious! My 3 little kids all loved it. I made it with pea pods and brown rice. Also cut the honey in half and added a little bit of agave nectar. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

I just made this, it’s sitting warm in the crockpot while the jasmine rice is cooking in the rice cooker. It tastes absolutely amazing. I put maybe just 1/2-3/4 cup honey because I have natural honey with the honeycomb and everything that I got from a local bee keeper, so it’s pretty strong. And it tastes great! I added just a few drops of pure sesame oil at the end instead of the seeds, it’s awesome! Love it, thanks for this.

Made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! only thing i did different was 1/4 cup soy sauce- also i dipped the chicken in milk and flour and browned it in a pan before i put it in the crockpot. it had a nice breading and was soooo yummy! all 3 of my kids asked for seconds (ages 4,3,and 13 months)

I just made this for my sweetie tonight! He loved it! I added a bit more honey and red pepper flakes and it was killer! The sauce thickened up perfectly when I took out the chicken and added the corn starch. Next time I think I will add some carrots (sliced) and water chestnuts and make a lettuce wrap! Thank you for the recipe and tips!!

I made this recipe tonight for tea and its lovely! I reduced the amount of honey and soy sauce as I thought the amounts given would be too much for the amount of chicken I had and it worked perfectly. I’m on,y just getting into using a slow cooker so it’s good to find recipes like this that work. Love your site. Thanks for sharing!

I made this tonight and it turned out great! I accidentally bought green onions instead of white, so I used those and just added a whole chopped bunch at end after I’d added back the cut up chicken. Nice and colorful. I also only cooked mine on low for 3.5 hours and did the last 30-60 min. On the “keep warm” setting. I hate dried out chicken. I would not recommend leaving it all day while you work. I would think the sugars in the honey would start to burn.

I made this tonight with chicken breasts. At the end, when I loaded my rice up with the sauce, I thought it tasted too salty and then after my husband ate it he said it was too sweet. Different taste buds! My sauce didn’t thicken up even after 20min in the crockpot, any ideas on making it get thicker?

I have been making this and loving it! Have been adding a spoonful or two of peanut butter to the sauce at the end! Helps thicken it and adds great flavor!! (and the kids LOVE it!!)
It is a weekly request in our house!!

I just found this recipe and would LOVE to get it going for today but do not have sesame seeds on hand. I do, however, have sesame oil. For flavor could anyone suggest if this is an option in place of the vegetable oil?

We love sesame oil at our house and use it frequently. I did a combo of 1 Tbsp canola oil and 2 tsp Trader Joe’s dark sesame oil. I also added 1 tsp of minced ginger. This is my first attempt so I’m crossing my fingers that its good! The reviews make it look promising. I hope my family will love it. They LOVE my Crockpot Sticky Sesame Oil & Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks!

I have recently discovered your blog and purchased one of your cookbooks. I love them both but this same question frequently comes up with me, I am a numbers girl sorry! When a recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts etc, are you referring to a 4 oz chicken breast totaling a pound in weight, or a full chicken breast totaling closer to 2 pounds in weight. Thanks so much for your help! Keep the delicious recipes coming! My absolute favorite so far is the Butterfinger blondies!

Hi Serenity! Thanks so much for visiting our blog. Chicken breasts are so tricky because they vary in size. We usually by a 4 pound bag of frozen chicken breasts which have about 7 to 8 breasts in the bag. Every chicken breast in the bag varies in size. So with all the many sizes, the average chicken breast is about 1 cup of cooked chicken. Each chicken breast is about 8 ounces.

Hi Mary, just click on the MAGIC button under the picture and then click on NUTRITION. It will give you all of the nutritional info on this recipe. If you get more servings out of the recipe than listed, the calories will be less.

Some crockpots cook hotter even on low, so experimenting with frozen chicken breasts.
Removed the sauce at the end, used some of the sauce to barely cook orange pepper, roma seeded tomato and canned chunk pineapple. Pepper in first, pineapple next, tomato last to keep its firmness. Placed the cooked cubed chicken and veggies over cooked brown and black rice, cornstarch thickened sauce over all. Lots of sesame seeds purchased at an Asian market in lg container. Also a side salad of mixed baby greens (what I had on hand, recipe calls for just arugula ), diced date per plate, slivered almonds, blood oranges ( in season) cut in rings then sectioned. One orange or less, per serving, depending on size of serving. Dressing is juice from a squeezed mandarin orange (in season) with olive oil whisked into the juice, and poured over each salad plate. Feeding a hubby who starts work at 2PM and does not eat breakfast, so pack him full of tasty nutrition. Next I make his lunch after done cooking his dinner. This recipe would heat up well for lunch, minus the veggies, add those in a separate container to keep them firm. The orange salad also packs well for lunch add dressing at meal time.

Welcome to our site! There are six of us girls . . . no boys! Now that we have grown up and moved far apart from each other, we use this blog to stay in touch and share our ideas. Feel free to take a look around!